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Joe Alterman’s Timeless Jazz

Although I have been writing about jazz for over 70 years, I
don’t like to think of myself as a jazz historian. Being described
as a “historian” implies that what you are writing about is dead
and in the past. When it comes to writing about jazz, nothing can
ever be further from the truth.

I first came to New York City in 1953 as a civil war was raging
among the so-called jazz critics. The traditionalists, known then
as “moldy figs,” thought that jazz had died if not with Louis
Armstrong, then not too long after. The music of Parker, Dizzy and
the young Miles Davis was not even considered jazz at all by many
of the writers.

The “moldy figs” are still among us today, applying the same
labels and temporal limits on jazz. The only difference is that
they now insist that real jazz died with Parker, Dizzy and the
elderly Miles Davis.

While it is true that most of the musicians I used to write
about in the ’50s and ’60s are gone, real jazz is timeless. It
lives on in new musicians, like my young friend Joe Alterman, an
accomplished jazz pianist who is making his debut performance at
NYC’s iconic Birdland jazz club on April 7.

In a 2013 profile of Joe for The Wall Street Journal, I
recalled my reaction upon hearing his music for the first time:
“Talk about the joy of jazz! It’s a pleasure to hear this
music.”

In the early ’50s I was a regular at the original Birdland,
located on Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan;
“the jazz corner of the world,” as the neon sign reminded me each
time I entered its doorway and descended down the steep staircase.
All the musicians who are now considered jazz legends played there:
Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis,
Lester Young, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson and Duke Ellington, among
others.

Alterman would have been able to hold his own jamming with any
of them.

“Joe Alterman has tremendous taste and a passionate respect for
swing and space,” Marc Myers wrote in a JazzWax.com review of
Alterman’s 2012 recording “Simple Life.”

“His touch on the keyboard is reminiscent of pianists from
earlier years who listened carefully, felt expressively and
actually cared about what the listener heard. Joe is a remarkable
swinger and poet.”

Alterman, a white kid from Atlanta, graduated with a bachelor’s
and a master’s degree in music from New York University. He has
been mentored by the 81-year-old black saxophonist Houston Person,
whom he met while Person was teaching a master class at NYU.
According to Person, “Joe has a great sense of what is most
meaningful in the history and tradition of our music, and a real
solid musical vision of where to take it.”

Person, who played on four of the tracks on “Simple Life,” was
also the producer of Alterman’s latest recording, “Georgia Sunset,”
which was selected as a Downbeat Editor’s Pick and reached No. 6 on
the JazzWeek radio charts. All of Alterman’s recordings, along with
his calendar of appearances, can be found on his website:
JoeAltermanMusic.com.

Alterman has already headlined some impressive jazz venues, but
his debut at Birdland has particular significance for him. In 2006
Joe was still a senior in high school when he and his father flew
to New York City to see Oscar Peterson at Birdland, in what turned
out to be the legendary jazz pianist’s final New York appearance.
It was a transformative experience.

“I’ll never forget how silent and warm the entire room felt as
soon as the lights dimmed and the announcer came on the speakers,”
Alterman recalled.

“From the moment Mr. Peterson emerged from backstage, his
enormous charisma and aura seemed to envelop the whole room. I’d
never been around such a powerful presence before in my life. Ever
since that evening, it’s been a dream of mine to perform at
Birdland. For a long time I figured it was impossible. How could I
possibly perform in the same room as the great Oscar Peterson? And
now, that dream is coming true.”

If you are in NYC, and can catch Alterman’s gig on April 7,
expect to hear the ghosts of the original Birdland on that stage.
After the lights dim, and you hear the announcer on the speakers,
you will be listening to the timeless personification of the past,
present and future of jazz.

Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. He is a member of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and the Cato Institute, where he is a senior fellow. Nick Hentoff is a criminal defense and civil liberties attorney in New York City.